Issue 96: Well, it looks like March came in like a lion; a cold, frigid ice-covered lion. I know most of us are probably in agreement (if you live in the mid-west or NE United States) that its time for winter to be over! I think we have all had enough of these single digit and sub-zero temperatures, ice falling from the sky, and the merciless snow. The only thing that has been redeeming about this ridiculous weather is that it has kept us all inside, playing our games. While it looks like we are finally on the brink of Spring, there is still some gaming news to be excited about too.
Blizzard has once again provided the most news in this issue, especially if you are playing Diablo III or anxiously awaiting Heroes of the Storm. If you’re on the fence about updating your Standard Edition of MoP to the Deluxe, your time is running out. Also, some Marvel Heroes, Neverwinter, Guild Wars 2 and even Asheron’s Call news. Stay warm and game on, friends!
Mists of Pandaria Digital Deluxe is Retiring
Posted 3.3.14 – If you only bought the standard edition of Mists of Pandaria, your opportunity to upgrade will soon be gone. Blizzard has announced that they are retiring the Digital Deluxe version of the game as of March 10th. So if you are on the fence about upgrading to receive the mount and the pet, you better make up your mind soon because once this version of the game is gone, so will your opportunity to acquire the Quilen Mount and the Lucky Quilen Cub pet.
WoW Insider post
Heroes of the Storm in Alpha
Posted 3.3.14 – Blizzard’s latest title, Heroes of the Storm, has entered an alpha testing phase. This essentially means they are just making sure that the core engine is working before they go in and make additional quality-of-life tweaks to the game. However, players can start to sign up in hopes of receiving a beta invite. You just need to opt-in via your Battle.net account and hope that Blizzard picks you to receive a beta invite.
Massively post
Mac Marvel Heroes in Closed Beta
Posted 3.3.14 – Here is some good news if you are a MAC user yearning for a Marvel Heroes compatible client. Gazillion has started closed beta testing of the MAC version of the game. There isn’t much else to tell regarding this announcement. We know that they intend to launch the MAC client later this spring (whenever spring gets here) but there will still be an open beta testing phase prior to that release. Hopefully testing goes well and the MAC community can rejoice in the coming months.
Massively post
Turbine Ceasing Development on Asheron’s Call
Posted 3.3.14 – Yes, you read that correctly. Turbine will no longer be dedicating development resources to Ascheron’s Call, a title that has been around for 15 years. This doesn’t mean they are shutting the game down, just that they do not intend to add any new content; however there will still be the occasional tweak and bug fix. The most interesting thing mentioned in the post is the fact that Turbine will be working with folks in the community on running their own servers.
Kotaku post
Diablo III 50% XP Boost
Posted 3.4.14 – Starting today (March 4th), anyone still playing Diablo III will be receiving a 50% XP boost to help you reach that max level before the games first expansion is released. Reaper of Souls is scheduled to release on March 25th so you still have a couple of weeks to reach the max. I actually haven’t played D3 in quite a while. In fact I think I’m still sitting around level 30ish as the furthest I have leveled in the game, but based on what I have been reading, the changes in patch 2.0.1 and the incoming expansion are supposed to be pretty nice. The XP boost is only around for a limited time (my guess, it will end March 25th).
WoW Insider post
Battle for Lion’s Arch Begins!
Posted 3.4.14 – The final battle for Guild Wars 2 villain, Scarlet Briar, begins today (March 4th). Players can now begin their assault to take out Scarlet Brior and her army for their devastating attack on Lion’s Arch in hopes of reclaiming the capital city. I have only been able to play Guild Wars 2 during the brief free period and while I did seem to enjoy it, I haven’t really had the time (or the money) to play the game more. I imagine though that this assault is an apex moment for the avid players of the game. Good hunting!
Massively post
Neverwinter’s Expansion at Icewind Dale
Posted 3.4.14 – If you are a fan of the Forgotten Realms then the name Icewind Dale has a special meaning to you (I may have inadvertently stolen those words from the post, but oh well). If you are a reader of R. A. Salvatore then you have probably been to Icewind Dale and in the upcoming Neverwinter expansion you will go there. The name of the expansion is Module 3: Curse of Icewind Dale. This news has me really tempted not only to play Neverwinter but to read the books.
Massively post
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